UNHCR seeking Proposals for Community Based Social Media Influencers Challenge
Deadline: 15-Jul-2020
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Innovation Service through its Digital Access, Inclusion and Participation Programme has announced a call for proposals for the Community Based Social Media Influencers challenge.
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Working with community-based social media influencers has the potential to strengthen UNHCR’s ability to build trust in a community by working to support community-led content creation, sharing and response to community engagements. However, working with social-media influencers is not without its challenges – often relating to selection, due diligence, the risk of reinforcing entrenched inequalities through stereotypes and the exclusion of minority voices.
At a global level, the Division of External Relations has also developed significant experience engaging with influencers online – from those with thousands of followers to ‘nanos’. This knowledge is being fed into the development of a toolkit to support UNHCR operations with their influencer engagement. While initially this engagement focused on External Relations – including through Private Sector Partnerships – a number of UNHCR operations have started to engage with such nano influencers to strengthen Community Based Protection Approaches. These initiatives include engaging ‘nanos’ at a national or more local level (i.e. within a specific settlement/camp), generating creative and engaging content for diverse audiences.
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The Innovation Service – with support from the Division of External Relations – would like to learn from operations wanting to test the emerging practice of leveraging nano influencer networks in support of protection outcomes.
Scope and Objectives
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In the offline world, identification of ‘community representatives’ and community stakeholders usually follows extensive mapping/assessment and transparent selection processes. These mapping processes aim to identify stakeholders from across the diversify of a community – ensuring focal points are identified to represent the most marginalized groups. Community stakeholders are often supported with capacity and skills building and equipped with ‘toolkits’ to support them with their community engagement. Often training covers protection issues, referral, specific topics (i.e. public health, education) – this includes regular refresher training sessions. Engagement between key community focal points, partners and UNHCR is frequent – often daily.
This experience can be translated online, as UNHCR’s community based protection strategies embrace online communities. There are of course some caveats to the direct translation of Community Based approaches online, which will require oversight and monitoring. Nonetheless, similar strategies of identification of individuals (ensuring AGD representation and inclusivity) as well as capacity building and mentoring can be adopted.
Supporting community stakeholders in the online world would include capacity building on key social media concepts linked to source verification, information validation, data protection, privacy, expectation management. It could also extend to content creation – covering topics linked to the use of audio-visual content, inclusive design, recognition of personal/content bias, and user-testing modalities. It would also include how to support influencers to recognize and appropriately refer protection concerns flagged via their networks or directly.
Eligibility Criteria
Only UNHCR country operations are able to apply to the challenge and one submission is accepted per operation. This Expression of Interest should command the support of senior management within the operation.
Evaluation Criteria
For the Expression of Interests, awarding of funds will be based on the following criteria equally weighted:
Challenge: Framing of the Challenge and evidence / data to support it with a key focus on inclusive community engagement and feedback response
Solution: Articulation of the potential of the initiative as a solution to address key aspects covered in this background note. Specific attention will be given to proposed levels of community engagement / meaningful participation considering diversity and inclusion
Impact: Potential Impact of the solution not only in terms of the number of community members supported, but also how the intervention would affect them in their daily lives and build broader community resilience
Feasibility: Based on approach, administration, tentative budget a determination on how viable the project will be and its level of sustainability
Learning: description of how the operation aims to assess or review the success of the approach, maintain flexibility for making changes as needed, and share findings upon conclusion of implementation
For more information, visit https://www.unhcr.org/innovation/digital-inclusion-call/